I have finished reading The Alchemist. It's been quite a while now since I have read a book. What a fascinating journey it has been from the plains of Andalusia to the deserts of Egypt. I found myself in the shoes of Santiago the shepherd boy of Andalusia. My apetite has not been whetted yet and to tell you in one line "Yeh Dil Mange More"



Last weekend I saw the movie "The Dark Knight" at Prasads Imax, Hyderabad (One of the few Imax theatres in the country). The cape crusader i.e. Batman (Christian Bale) meets his match in the Joker (Heath Ledger). As a movie review in the newspaper says Batman may be the hero but the real shining knight is the villain aka Joker played by Heath Ledger. What a mesmerising performance it was. Sad but true that Heath won't be there to see it. Other notable performances like Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) the Mayor of Gotham city who loses his beloved (Maggie Gylenhall) and becomes Harvey 2 faced lend the movie a charm of its won.

The movie based on the marvel comic series comes alive with the Joker's histrionics. Between good and evil the Joker tries hard to make people fallible and almost succeeds with Harvey Dent. The action, script and the memorable performances by the lead actors make this one of those rare movies which gets everything right.

Batman spreading his wings after jumping from a skyscraper, conversion of the batmobile into a bike, the truck getting turned upside down are some of the cool action sequences in the movie. One should definitely watch this movie on a big screen like Imax coz its definitely worth every penny spent.

It has been raining for the past few days and I am quite happy about it. Happy...well for people living in the cities who curse the rain, the power shortages should give them a reality check. We keep cribbing about the rain however we hardly realize how important it is to have regular rainfall. We need the rains for generating hydel power, farmers need it for cultivating crops and last but not the least it's the source of precious drinking water. One of the reasons I guess people hate the monsoon especially in the cities is due to the creaking infrastructure in developing countries like India.

This Saturday and Sunday I have been mostly at home. Bomb blasts first in Bangalore and the next consecutive day in Ahmedabad, added with the government apathy our cities are becoming increasingly unsafe to live in.

Coming back to the rains, the weather is so pleasant, you don't feel like getting up in the morning. It's like the cozy bed and the blanket is a paradise you love to be cocooned in forever :)

My IELTS results were out on 27th June exactly 13 days after the test. Now the results were a surprise or to be precise I can say it was a mixed bag. Speaking, my first test which I feared would be my worst performance I scored 8 out of 9. Ditto for Listening. Now comes the worst part.

I scored 6.5 in Reading and 7.5 in writing. The overall band score was 7.5 which is not bad however I was expecting something more.

The other news from my end is I bought a new bicycle 2 weeks back. It's from Atlas and has got a spring suspension to handle the bumpy ride which it surely does :). Riding a bicycle is so liberating. Now everyday in the morning I go for a bicycle ride. I avoid taking the main highway and when I need to cross the road, I just walk along with my bicycle instead of pedalling.

It's been more than 8 years now since I rode a bicycle. The cool breeze in the mornings and the thrill of cycling...you just can't beat it. Lastly I am also proud of the fact that I am not contributing to the environment pollution and the most compelling reason is to burn the calories.


The other interest I have picked up is reading a book after a long time. The book is titled "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho . I am half-way through the book and it's captivating enough. The book has sold 30 million copies worldwide and rightfully so. The surprise package is the author who is not a white man from a western country but a Brazilian. It just shows that there is still so much of talent even in the developing countries and it's not the exclusive preserve of the west.

Though I have been writing in English now for quite some period of time, yet after attending the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), I have realized that I have still a long way to go before I can be termed an expert user in English.

Yesterday I had a speaking test and today it was Listening, Reading and writing test. I started of my speaking test quite well however just when it was about to finish, I fumbled for answers. At the end of the test, I told my examiner that I was a bit nervous to which she replied that it was a bit unexpected. She said that probably I didn't acquaint myself well with the format. I was heart broken and a bit dejected. However I knew that there was still more hard work to be done. As I reached home, I started my intense preparation for the L/R/W test.

Today that preparation seems to have paid off. Listening test was a bit tough as the test came to a close, ditto with reading however the writing section was a pleasant surprise as I aced through it comfortably. The only worry is if I had written more than what was required. 13 days from now the test results will be out and I am keeping my fingers crossed.

One peculiar thing which happened and which usually happens in Indian test center's was a couple who were copying. Before the test, the invigilators had given clear instructions that should people be caught copying they would be disqualified. So blatant was the copying that the couple had to finally hand in their passport.

The good news is that summer is slowly giving way to the monsoon. That has brought down the temperature quite a bit. Now as for the not so good thing. The change in weather also means a change in our body temperature.

Now why I am saying this...coz the dreaded viral fever is back. For the past couple of days I am having running nose (it was pretty bad yesterday) and now it's headache and fever. Yesterday I went to the doctor and he prescribed me some medicines. The bill a whopping (INR 173) which includes the doctors consultation fee of Rs.70. Now that's pretty expensive to consult a doctor. I was thinking when I am feeling the pinch how will the poor patients pay.

I got up today morning and still have a singeing headache. I am thinking whether to attend office or not.

You have everything, a good job, 4 wheeler and a place to stay but then there is still a sense of emptiness. You don't know the reason but it's there. You're depressed but unable to fathom the reason for the depression. This is how I have been feeling for the past few days.

Now-a-days I have also realized that I have begun to pile-on weight especially in the mid-riff region. So I had two options...the 1st one is that you ignore it or the second that is to firm up an action plan. I chose the second one. I have started going for an hour's walk especially on the weekend. Today mom came along with me. It was a nice walk in the evening when the sun had gone down and there was a cool breeze. True, some things in life are priceless like the walk I had today with my mom. It's back to work tomorrow.

You're driving to work and suddenly a fly starts bothering you. You feel like catching hold of it, suddenly there are some wild ideas whirring in your head like smashing the fly with a hammer. But the only concern is that you're driving which is a highly skilled job and a momentary distraction can prove fatal. That's what happened with me yesterday. It reminded me of the MTV music video where in a guy does the same thing when a fly starts irritating him when he's driving.

He takes a big hammer smashes the windscreen and any other items on the dashboard however even then he doesn't get the fly :)

I was on a small vacation couple of weeks back. I visited a couple of temples (Dharmasthala & Subramanya) in South Karnataka.There was nice memories of the scenic drive, the baby elephant and sumptuous lunch at the Kukke Subramanya temple.

At work, the project has almost close to completion and now I need to scout for a new one. The summers are lot more bearable these days as we have applied a coat of white cooling paint on the terrace. The paint reflects the sunlight back. That really helps to bring down the room temperature by a couple of degrees and the resultant humidity and sweating. Not everyone can afford an airconditioner and the huge electricity bills.

The soaring temperatures in Hyderabad has made life miserable. Summers in Hyderabad @ 41 degrees ain't that cool. Who better to ask than my better half who cribs about the hot weather. She badly misses her Bangalore climate. I agree with her as far as the climate in Bangalore is concerned.

I had mentioned in my earlier blog as to how we can cut down on vehicular emissions by using more public transport. However I couldn't keep my promise as the cruel weather has forced me to switch to my four wheeler. The only silver lining is that the total distance covered is just 25 kms.

Missing a flight and that too an International one is the worst thing that can happen to any one. I realized it the hard way when I missed my 10:05 a.m flight just because I reached the check out counter 5 minutes late. Then I had to rebook my flight for the evening which came at an expensive price tag of 222 pounds or the Indian rupee equivalent of 18,200 bucks.

Of course the mistake was completely mine as I miscalculated the distance to the Heathrow airport. Here I need to specially thank the pakistani cab driver Zafar who shaved off about approximately an hour of commuting. The only problem was the traffic hold-ups in between. However in the end it all counted for nothing. Imagine waiting for the whole day in the airport as you're next flight is only at @ 21:05 hours. The only relief was I had some good co-passengers for company.

The security @ the Heathrow airport was so stringent that even water kept in the bottle was disallowed. One has to empty the contents of the bottle. I walked in through the metal detector and it triggered an alarm. This made the plain clothes officer suspicious and he told me to unbuckle my belt. He put his hands around my waist and checked me thoroughly from head to toe probably looking for some concealed explosives :)

Also we had to take our shoes for being x-rayed. I guess it's the John Reid effect. That's the man who wanted to trigger an explosion aboard the plane with explosives planted in his shoes.

Now I am back home atlast and looking forward to the long weekend before the hard grind ahead...yeah I am talking about getting back to work from Monday :)

It was my final working day in London today. But what a day it was...for a moment or so I was a bit of nervous wreck. I had to get the final document signed off by the client however the time taken by the client to review the document was making me a tad nervous. The problem was my ticket to India is booked for tomorrow and if I had to stay back for another day it would have been too late to reschedule the departure date. Thankfully as the saying goes "All is well that ends well" and things just evened out.

It's been madness for the past 4 days (excludes saturday & sunday) :) What I am surprised is that I exceeded my own expectations. I had to handle calls from my Project Manager in India and the big boss apart from interacting with the clients onsite. In the end it's been worth it. This has been my first exposure dealing with on-site clients directly. I agree it was tough, there were times when I thought of "Fight or Flight" but I am glad I chose the former. It has enriched my experience and that should stand me in good stead in the future.

I will miss the London tube, the daily morning English breakfast made of toast, butter, delicious cornflakes and warm milk. Who can forget the accomodation which was nice and sleeping cozily in the bed with the heater to warm up your room. The only thing which made my life miserable was the drastic fall in the temperature. Constant sneezing and wheezing has left a toll on my nose. It looks more like a joker's nose now...just kidding :)

In the evening my final port of call was the Mahalakshmi temple located @ East Ham station. For dinner, I visited Saravana Bhavan (Chennai's famous chain of vegeterian restaurants).

My Jet Airways flight departs tomorrow @ 10:05 a.m and hopefully I will be reaching India in the early hours of thursday morning. My experience with Jet Airways has been nice so far and it's nice to know even Indian airlines can give good competition to foreign airlines :)

Yesterday i.e Saturday the first thing I did in the morning was to visit the Ilford shopping centre. There were a couple of things on my shopping list. The first one was to get a pair of formal shoes. I had brought along my formal clothes however I forgot to bring along my shoes. Now that put me in an awkward situation when dealing with the client.

It was a trifle embarrassing to put on formal shirts and a sneaker. The only apprehension I had in my mind was how much will the new pair of shoes cost. As with most Indians I was used to the math of converting the British pound into Indian currency. So say for example I need to spend £ 2 on a chocolate bar, at the back of mind it implies I am spending around INR 160 bucks which sounds crazy. But is it really...what we forget is that your rupees don't count for nothing when you're in another country. So if you earn in £ pounds or have $ dollars with you, you can only spend in that currency.

Luckily for me there I found a shop where the discount sale was on. I got a good pair of shoes for just £ 8. Now that was cool. The other item on the list was to purchase a travel adapter. This one was a real pain as I had to go from one shop to another but couldn't find anything which conforms to Indian and UK electrical sockets. So the next time, when you leave the shores and have to charge your cellphone or use it for any other electrical gadget purchased in India, you need to be sure of purchasing a travel adapter before hand. Lessons learnt the hard way :)

After the shopping, I visited the "Tower Bridge" , "Big Ben" and the "London Eye". Now here's something interesting. People mistake the "Tower Bridge" for the "London Bridge" which isn't right coz both are completely different structures. The one thing which I really admired was the "Big Ben" and the "London Eye". Both Big Ben, London Eye and the British Parliament House are located near to river Thames. It was nice standing on the bridge and viewing the ferry ships transporting the tourists on river Thames.

Sunday saw a very wet weather and that kept me mostly indoors. I spent my time going to the Laundrette, preparing notes, watching television, ironing my clothes and getting ready for the busy day tomorrow. 17th March, is my birthday and sadly I will my miss my family a lot on this special day. I can't wait to get back home.

It's been 3 years since my last trip overseas. I am currently in London for a short business trip barely lasting a week. I will be holding discussions with one of our clients. From the day I reached London, I had to hit the ground running.

It's been so hectic that I indeed forgot I was away from my country. So far no time to visit any of the tourist hot spots. The good thing about London is the tube. People in London are lucky to have such an excellent transport facility. I hope we have something similar in most cities across India. I took a 1 week Oyster pass for 34 pounds. Its so cool I can travel unlimited number of times on the tube, overground trains and ofcourse the bus.

Traffic as in any western country is very disciplined. The only sore point is the crappy weather. I am put up @ Hotel Banks, Ilford.

It's a weekend tomorrow and I am hoping to visit places like the London Bridge and London Eye, stuff which I could only watch in movies so far :)

What is it, that happens to a person when they get behind the wheel? This was something which was plaguing me when I have been driving to work for the past couple of weeks. Sometimes I have done crazy things like overtaking vehicles when the road is narrow and just about saving my life by avoiding a head-on collision with the on-coming vehicles.

That day @ work I kept wondering what had seized me for that particular moment? I meant how could I do this. I keep harping on how road users here don't have traffic sense and look here I was doing the same stuff which I detest. How does even a sober person lose his patience when he/she gets behind the wheel. Anyway just as a sort of self inflicted punishment I felt like slapping myself and which I did.

Anywayz the weekends @ home are a far cry from my movie filled weekends when I was away from home. These days I am more focussed on doing "Home Improvements" There was the absence of a wardrobe since a long time and finally after 2 weeks of work its all set to be ready in the next couple of days. The downside... it did burn a hole in my pocket.:)

I am currently serving my time out in Business wait. The official name given for people on "Bench". I have been trying hard to get myself into a project however it's tough luck so far.

I have met a couple of my colleagues who have relocated from Bangalore to Hyderabad just like I have. So during the conversations we have the talk always veers down to which city is better whether it's Bangalore or Hyderabad. As usual the common complaint of most people about Bangalore is the chaotic traffic. The pleasant weather & greenery of Bangalore is no match to the hot and dusty weather in Hyderabad. Where Hyderabad does score is the cost of living and better infrastructure.

Initially it's been a bit tough settling down in Hyderabad after getting used to Bangalore. However I now treasure the moments which I get to spend with my family, shopping for groceries and other odd jobs. When I used to visit my family on weekends or on a short vacation, I wouldn't definitely have found time do all this stuff.

Take today's example. In the couple of restroom(s) we have, there are Indian toilets. Since a long time I wanted to renovate one of the restroom so that it could accomodate a western commode. Today I was finally able to do that. Poor mom had a tough time cleaning the house and getting rid of the construction materials.

When I now look @ the restroom, it looks neat with freshly laid ivory tiles. The only stuff remaining is fixing the commode and that will be done by the plumber on Monday. I am eagerly looking forward to the day :)

January 20th 2008. I can't but keep smiling and rub my eyes in disbelief. Blogging which was so much an integral part of my life for the past 1 year didn't find space in my daily schedule for nearly a month now.

Anyway's its a new year and there are new things do in life. I remember last year I had made of couple of resolutions for the new year. Whether by accident or sheer luck I did manage to fulfil atleast one of the resolutions that is to get married.

I have a new job now at Hyderabad...you guessed it right, my hometown...:) So it really feels good to stay with my family. There are certain jobs you can't do when you are away from home. Now that my kid brother has left to U.S, it certainly is my responsibility to look after them. And of course the icing on the cake is the homemade food I get to have. To sum it up as the saying goes "Home is where the heart is" :)

After a long hiatus I am back. It's been quite a long break from blogging. First, I was caught up in relocating hassles and then settling down in Hyderabad apart from the wedding preparations that has taken most of my time.

I am leaving tonight by train to Bangalore and from there to Mangalore. I am getting married on 28th December. It does give me goosebumps that I am entering uncharted territory however I guess it's part of life and one must take it in their stride.

So expect some lull again on the blogging front till I get back. So all you folks who have been reading my blog please do wish me all the best as I take an important step in my life :)

Though it's a Friday, it's been one hell of a day so far. To begin with I lost my Car's RC documents. It meant that I have to lodge an FIR with the police, get an NOC from my Bank and the approach the RTA for a duplicate RC. I have to shell an amount of INR 2000.

Gosh!!! life can sometimes be so cruel. The only good thing that happened @ the end of the day was the farewell card I received. I have initiated the exit formalities and it will mostly likely be completed by the EOD (End of Day) on Monday.

I am not much excited about the weekend as there are lot of unfinished tasks. I hope I sail through this :)

Filmstars have wives who are actresses themselves or someone outside the film industry and most of them look gorgeous. But how many people associate good looking women as the better halves as far as politicians are concerned.

The counter-question to this would be...how can you even think of asking such a question? Take a look @ Union Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav's wife and you know exactly what I am taking about.

However when I was going through Times of India newspaper I came across the picture of Union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan who was attending a rally along with his wife Reena. Looking @ Reena she looked every bit the glamorous woman. She was fair, good looking, had a nice personality with her jet black hair (possibly dyed :)) untied. Now that was a surprise for me and I do realize that there can be exceptions :)

I managed to get an NOC from the ICICI bank regarding my car loan and the final step now is to get an NOC from the RTO. I cleaned most of my files from the PC. The important files I zipped them and sent it to my personal id. The sad part is they haven't reached the inbox of my personal mail id. It probably is due to the firewall of my company mail server...booo hoo.

The countdown says 3 more working days to go :) Today afternoon I finally managed to visit the Provident Fund Office. It was not a pleasant experience once I reached there.

I stood in a queue for a long time and then was asked to go to another counter. The person manning the desk redirected me to the earlier counter. The man @ the previous counter again redirected me to the next counter. I felt like a ping-pong ball being tossed around.

There was an old PC, no helpdesk to assist people regarding the information they were seeking, rooms filled with heaps of paper files. In other words it looked like a typical government department. For a person who is used to working in cushy airconditioned private office with all the amenities a visit to a government office is an eye-opener. It literally brings them straight down to earth...:)

The only silver lining was that 2 individuals were prompt enough to help me regarding my query. In the end, though I couln't get the balance and transfer details I was a bit satisfied that I now know where I stand.

It begs the question as to how motivated people feel to work in government office(s) in such an environment. Our nationalized banks were once a typical example of a government office however the tough competition given by private banks have forced them to change.

In other words nationalized banks had to change if they had to withstand the competition and be in business.

The rest of my day @ work just flew. So here I am waiting for a new day to begin :)

It's back to a working Monday. After having a blissful sleep yesterday night I woke up @ 7.am which is quite early by my standards :)

Sunday was nothing great except that I watched movies on DVD. Today @ office I let my replacement work on the PC for most of the time. When I went to have my dinner, the building adjacent to our office premises was lit up with christmas lights on the occassion of Karnataka Rajyotsava. It was a bit baffling for me coz that day was already celebrated on November 1st. Anyway it doesn't matter when someone is still in a festive mood and besides it's a delight for the eyes to look at :)

Friday was good not only from a personal point of view but also for my household chores. I managed to finish off the house cleaning by Friday morning.

So Saturday morning when I opened my eyes I felt so much relaxed. Well there was some more tasks to be finished. The first one was the usual car wash. The next task on my radar was going to the Provident Fund (PF) office which unfortunately didn't happen. The last task was to get my stereo from the showroom. There was a problem with the Blaupunkt stereo panel as the display wasn't lighting up. Thankfully it has been rectified now :)

Evening it was shopping time where I shopped for floor cleaning liquid and brown bread. As I am typing this stuff I still can't believe that my younger brother did indeed get a visa :) I distributed sweetmeats to my office colleagues and also to the security staff @ my office premises. Happiness gets doubled when you share it with someone :)

BTW as I wrote in my earlier about my intention to purchase the DVD version of "The pursuit of happyness". I finally got my copy though that did burn a hole in my pocket :)

It's been a rocking day for me today. The first thing in the morning I get the good news that my kid brother has got his U.S student visa after being rejected twice.

It took sometime for the good news to sink in. It's been one long road of struggle, hardships and pain. Finally as the saying goes there is always light @ the end of the tunnel. I can't express my happiness in words :)

It was a hectic day for me as my replacement has come back and I started imparting the Knowledge Transfer sessions to him.

To my surprise I could cover most of the session within 2 hours. So now there's a comfortable buffer zone for him and me incase we hit a roadblock. After a long time it felt good teaching someone. Mine was the only voice echoing in the office cubicle and everyone had a puzzled expression on their office when they looked @ me :)

So tomorrow is a Friday and end of the working week. I am looking forward to it :)

12 more days to go and counting. Well yes that's the countdown for my stay in Bangalore and the present organization where I am working.

The good news is that the candidate who will be replacing me has cleared the final hurdle. I am just waiting for him to return after his vacation so that I can impart the knowledge transfer (KT) sessions to him.

There are a lot of things to done, the only fear in my mind as it always happens I don't want to leave things till the last moment and then start ruing the lack of planning.

You can make movies with love stories in different ways or stick to the same boy-meets-girl routine. To come with up an innovative story is a challenging task. You need to break out of the rut. JAB WE MET is one such movie.

It comes across as refreshing mainly due to its strong script and the acting skills of its protagonists Aditya (Shahid Kapoor) and Geet (Kareena Kapoor). Their earlier movies might have been duds and their off screen romance didn't exactly ignite the romance on-screen. However this time around they do manage to scorch the screen with their intense chemistry. It's just a coincidence that they have delivered a hit just when they split up :)

The movie is well sustained by the songs and Pritam's melodious music. My favourites "Hum jo chalne lage", "Na Khona bhi hain" (slow one) and the foot tapping "Mauja".

My day started on a good note today. I finished cleaning my house which I normally reserve for Saturday's and that gave me immense satisfaction. It's like a major job during the weekend is over.

At work, I wasn't feeling that great due to some personal problems. I am just hoping and praying that everything goes well. One silver lining was I got the delivery of my car today though it took a bit longer than expected.

I have no tentative plans for the weekend as such except for watching the movie "JAB WE MET"

I haven't yet got the feedback for the candidate who was interviewed yesterday by the client. Looks like it's the onset of winter. I had this sore throat and then I felt a bit of feverishness.

Luckily I had some pills with me (Sinarest & Nimuselide) which was quite effective but then it also made me feel drowsy. I'll be taking delivery of my car tomorrow as there was a delay in transferring it from the body workshop to the showroom.

Yesterday and today the moon was looking spectacular in it's crescent shape. Truly it's a pleasure to watch it against the backdrop of a star lit sky :)

Nothing much happening @ work for the past few days. There was one silver lining though. One of the candidates whom we had shortlisted for interview has done better than the previous candidates in his final round. We are keeping our fingers crossed hoping that he gets selected.

The other good news is that the work on the damaged bumper of my car and other body parts is now complete. I can expect to take delivery of my car tomorrow. Good thing is that the bill isn't on the higher side and thankfully Insurance has got it covered :) I need to shell just 500 bucks from my pocket.

What is happiness? Is it a state of mind? Is it achieving material
benefits or doing well in one's career? Is it being with your near and dear
ones or friends? Well there are no easy answers. This is a dilemma
lots of people face around the world.

However when you watch a movie titled "the PURSUIT of HAPPYNESS", it takes you through a roller coaster ride of one person's trials and tribulations to succeed in his career and be a good papa to his son. You identify yourself with the character in the movie by putting yourself in his shoes.

Will Smith stars in this moving tale inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman struggling to build a future for himself and his 5 year old son Christopher (Jaden Smith). When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise Christopher (Jaden Smith) on his own.

Chris determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind locked doors of a metro station bathroom.

With self-confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall street Legend. This film may not have glamorous heroines, slap stick comedy or slam bang stuff but it really inspires you.

Compelling performances by Will Smith and Jaden Smith make this movie a must watch for audiences across all ages.

I am so impressed with the movie that I plan to purchase the DVD. Of all the movies I have seen so far, I would rank it high above everything else.

I had a nice festival weekend except for a small accident that my car had suffered. This Diwali after a long time, I bought some fireworks.

I hate noisy fireworks and that's the reason I bought only flower pots and sparklers. It was nice watching the bright colors emanating from the flower pots once it was lit :)

It's exactly 1 year back on this date i.e 8th November 2006 that I started my blog. What an exhilarating ride it has been so far. It's a sheer coincidence that today also happens to be the day of my favorite festival Deepavali.

At office today, it was more fun than play :) We had dumb charades, skits, Mad Ads, Mr & Miss JBK (our client name) competition, songs and sweetmeats. I had a role as the person capturing the events on camera. There was prizes distributed by the top brass to the winners and the runners up.

It's going to be a long weekend as we aren't working tomorrow. I have scheduled some tasks for tomorrow. The primary one is taking my car to the workshop for inspection and new seat covers for the front and back seats as the existing one has got soiled after the long journey.

Our office wore a festive look today with cubicles decorated with marigold flowers and lights. You feel as if you're in a garden with the aroma of the flowers wafting across the cubicles.

Tomorrow we are working and everyone are supposed to be dressed in ethnic wear to usher in the festive spirit of Deepavali :)

Getting back to work after a week's vacation isn't easy. The good thing about the vacation is that I have finally found my partner. It's been a long wait but it's been worthwhile :)

Her name is Preethi and she makes my heart skip a beat whenever I gaze into her eyes :) Love is something which does strange things to people. It took a while for me to get convinced that yes for the first time I liked someone.

The journey to my hometown was very pleasant and enjoyable however I would like to forget the horrendous road that I took. It was a nightmare to drive my 4 wheeler and my car suffered some dents and scratches on the body. It's a lesson I will never forget and not try my luck driving on bad stretches like the one I experienced.

It's good to be back after a long break :)

Today while going through the newspapers I realized that the full moon I saw yesterday was one of the rare celestial events which falls on 2 consecutive days i.e 25 and 26th October in 2007.

I had shortlisted a candidate for interview yesterday and he had another round of interview today. Good news is that the interview went smoothly without a hitch. There are couple of more interview rounds to go. I am hoping and praying that it goes well.

My bags are all packed up and my bus is scheduled for departure to Mangalore @ 21:35 p.m. Yesterday I had bought a finger ring for my cousin sister as her wedding gift, hope she likes it :)

Today morning the chilly weather gave way to bright sunshine. I thought the rest of the day will be bright and sunny. However the fickle Bangalore weather has surprises in store for you :)

I hired an autorickshaw to office and mid-way it become very cloudy and strong winds were blowing across. By the time I reached office it was sunny again :)

Evening after dinner when I looked @ the sky, it was full moon in a clear sky and she was looking very pretty :)

It's been raining for the past week though thankfully only in the evenings. When I got up today morning I could still sense the chilly weather. I looked at the temperature and it read 23 degrees. It's what you call the typical Bangalore weather :)

I have still 2 more days to go before I pack my bags for the upcoming trip to Mangalore. Not much progress @ work today however I am expecting some work and that will keep me busy tomorrow :)

Sunday was special in a way for me. After a long time I got to enjoy an exquisite cuisine for dinner.:) I am talking about the wedding reception of one of my colleague.

I got to sample different varieties of dishes and as the Mac Donald's ad says "I was loving it". It was an exotic vegeterian dish and I would love to say "a Vegeterian's delight".

After a sunny afternoon the weather turned wet again. There was not much activity on the work front as the candidates I expected to interview didn't turn up.

"Nothing is certain in this world except death and taxes" How true can that be? This was something which I realised yesterday.

There was this festival spirit of "Dussehra" and on the other hand there was a death in my neighbourhood. People in the house which is right next to the place where I stay were preparing the last rites for the person who died.

One can't miss the irony. While most of the houses in the vicinity were decked with flowers and banana leaves, there was a bit of gloom which had descended on this house. History has it that Prince Siddhartha who came to be later known as Gautam Buddha was visibly moved when he saw the procession of a dead man. Cut to the present day and age, a single day doesn't pass when we haven't read of deaths caused due to accidents, murder, disease, suicide, depression, homicide and violence.

We have become insensitive about it and it no longer causes shock and awe unless our own kith and kin are involved.

Anyways life goes on. Today I have plans to attend a wedding reception of one of my colleagues in the evening. It's been a long time I have dressed in a suit so I am excited about wearing it for the occasion. The only sore point is the dry cleaner while ironing the blazer has broken one of the buttons. I need to get it fixed :)

You can call it an anti-climax, but yes I didn't dress in the ethnic wear as I thought. The culprit being my laziness. I was back in western casuals. A white shirt and ash grey jeans.

Its Friday once again. Today I took a couple of more interviews. I was impressed with one of the candidates when he was upfront and told the interview panel that he may not be able to do justice to the role.

Our office wore a festive look today on the occassion of "Vijaya Dashami" more popularly known as "Dussehra". Some of the guys were dressed in ethnic Indian wear like Kurta/Pyjama and ladies were looking gorgeous in their sarees.

I am looking forward to the weekend. The weather continues to be wet and as per the Met forecast it will remain that way for a couple of day(s). So here's 3 cheers for a wet weekend :)

The weather has suddenly turned wet since yesterday. It's a welcome change as the day was a getting a lot warmer. At work today I had a meeting with my CRM manager. It was a long overdue meeting. We had a cordial discussion.

I listen to Radio City 91.1 FM everyday @ work. I was excited to take part in a quiz on Radio City and SMSed my answer. I was 100% sure that my answer was correct, however the only problem was that mine was one of the correct answers. The random selection threw up a winner and unfortunately it wasn't me. The prize was a Rs.1000 meal voucher @ a famous restaurant.

Six years back I had won a contest on Radio City and won a dinner date with a leading fashion model. Those memories are still fresh :)

Tomorrow is "Vijaya Dashami" and we have been asked to dress in ethnic wear. I haven't decided yet as to which dress to wear for the occassion. So let's see :)

For the first time while commuting to office I travelled by the KSRTC Volvo bus. The fare was INR 15 about 6 bucks more than the ordinary bus. However the nice thing about the bus is that you travel in air-conditioned comfort and it's quite spacious.

The moment I stepped out of the bus, the outside weather hit me. It was a stark contrast :) On my afternoon stroll, I came as a french tourist. She needed directions to go to "FabIndia" store located in Koramangala which is just a stone's throw from my office.

As I was guiding the tourist I encountered the crossdressers/eunuchs again. I tried to dodge him however he wouldn't let me go. I took out my wallet and gave him 5 bucks. I guess that was my biggest mistake. He started eyeing the whole wallet and wanted the 10 rupee note. I gave in and handed him the money.

I was shocked and enraged when the crossdresser demanded some more money. I just brushed him aside and walked on. My previous encounters were fresh in my mind and this time I gathered the courage to confront them.

The tourist thanked me for my assistance. I was happy that I helped someone. I feel that every citizen is an ambassador of their country and they should do their utmost to see that visitors enjoy their stay in the host country. It's even more important for India which has a dismal 0.5% share in the world tourist traffic.

At work, it was a satisfying day. The test application I am developing has come out quite nicely so far :)

Yesterday was a sad day for me. My Apple Ipod Nano was pronounced dead on arrival @ the Apple store. It's been my companion for more than a year.

The store-in-charge tried to revive it but all his efforts was in vain. He said that the battery was dead and there's nothing he could do. The other option was to replace the battery which costs a whopping 3300 bucks almost half the cost of the Ipod. The new Ipod with a 2GB storage costs around 3500 bucks and the one with a video and 4GB storage costs 7500. So it really didn't make sense to go in for a battery replacement.

I felt like crying that the money spent on the Ipod which I thought will be my companion for some more time has gone down the drain.

How important is communication skills? My answer is...its very very important in this day and age. Take the example of candidates I interviewed today to fill up my position. The communication skills was not upto the mark and the interview with the client for some ended on a disastrous note. A candidate may be technically very sound, however what use is it, when they are not able to express it in words.

It was a hectic weekend especially on Sunday. My relatives had come down and I accompanied them on their shopping trip @ Commercial street and Bangalore Central.

Looking @ the clothes on display in the mall, it was hard to resist the urge to splurge :) Thank god I didn't give in to the temptation.

It's the scourge of the century and has affected millions of people around the world with no cure so far. It's the AIDS disease which has become the bane of mankind. In a world where there still exists discrimination in varying degrees, the less said about the people afflicted with HIV, the better.

People infected with HIV or AIDS have every right to live and work as other human beings. Then why do we ostracise them, sack them from work once it's revealed they are infected with the virus. These and many questions came to my mind when I was watching the movie "Phir Milenge" on Zoom channel yesterday night.

It's a touching story of Tamanna (Shilpa shetty) who gets accidentally infected with HIV once she comes in touch with her love Rohit (Salman Khan). Tamanna works for an advertising agency and gives it her all. She helps the firm grow and wins many awards. When her boss comes to know about her HIV status without flinching even for a second overlooking the good work done by her, he sacks her.

Tamanna is down but not out. She fights a legal battle with help of a lawyer(Abhishek Bachchan). Revathi as the movie director has made a beautiful movie without sounding patronising. This is the second time I have watched the movie and the tears just can't stop rolling down my cheeks.

Abhishek, Shilpa, Nazar and other crew members have put their heart and soul into the movie and it shows. The movie looks a genuine and credible attempt with an inspiring message for hundreds of people like Tamanna.

At work I was barely half awake today and managed to survive the day. There was a small measure of satisfaction when I could resolve a minor problem in an application I was working on.

I need to catch up on sleep which I have been deprived for the past 2 days. Time to hit the sack :)

Normally on a weekend I don't watch more than 1 movie, however this weekend I ended up watching 2 movies..:) I didn't watch it continously but on consecutive days. "Manorama Six feet under" and "The Bourne Ultimatum".

"Manorama Six feet under" is a whodunit murder mystery. It tells the story of an PWD Engineer Randhawa (Abhay Deol) based @ Lakhot, a small town in Rajasthan. Randhawa is suspended for taking a bribe. Randhawa has a hidden talent as well. He is the author of "Manorama" a book which tells the story of a detective. Unfortunately it doesn't sell well.

The pleasant package in the whole movie is Abhay Deol and Vinay Pathak as the cop and Randhawa's brother-in-law. The story has a refreshing feel to it. For a change you get away from the big metros or foreign locales to the dusty towns of Rajasthan. Other cast members Gul Panag as Abhay Deol's wife, Raima Sen, Kulbushan Kharbanda (who plays the state Minister) also lend good support.

The only drawback of the movie is its slow pace and sometimes you feel that the movie is stretching quite a bit. Looking @ it in perspective, the slow build-up seems very much relevant to the theme. Unlike the other "Deols", Abhay has surely started his career on a different stroke and one should appreciate it :)

Now comes my favourite which is "The Bourne Ultimatum". I have seen the earlier sequels and it only gets better. Matt Damon as "Jason Bourne" gets in to the skin of the character. I have never read the book on "The Bourne Identity" but the movie is surely a must watch. It's a high octane thriller with car chases, hi-tech gadgets involving the premier intelligence agency of the world...you guessed it right Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Jason Bourne. Bourne is on a mission to find his real identity.

It's a game of wits played by the CIA which wants Bourne eliminated. Bourne every time not only manages to slip but also gives a bloody nose to the CIA. However to the credit of CIA, there is one person who trusts her conscience and believes that the witch hunt is wrong.

If I were to rate this movie I would give it 4 stars out of 5 :-)

Even though it's a Friday I am somehow not enthused by it. It just looks like life has come to a standstill. The moment I opened my mailbox @ office, there was a mail from my Delivery Manager asking me to meet her.

We had a cordial discussion and she asked me the reason for putting in my papers. Before I could even say anything she wanted me to be frank and not give diplomatic answers :-) That literally had me zapped.

So much to my surprise I opened up and conveyed my concerns to her. She said that she was sorry that I am leaving and she didn't want to lose a good resource. I had already made up my mind, however I thanked her for giving me her time and listening to what I had to say.

Tomorrow I have plans to catch up on the movie "Manorama Six feet Under" The movie has won good reviews. I love the song "Tere sawalon ke" from the movie.

Let's see what I have to say after watching the movie :)

Yesterday I had forgotten to mention that I put in my papers. It was a painful decision to take however I need to move on. I have been away from home since a long time and I want to be with my family + it also makes more financial sense.

I am looking for a possible replacement for my role and I have shortlisted a few candidates. I need to take the interviews tomorrow or probably next week to find the candidate with the right fit.

"Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood."
-- Albert Einstein.

That was the quote of Albert Einstein on Mahatma Gandhi. Yesterday as we celebrated the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of "Gandhi Jayanthi", nothing stands farther from truth. During my growing up years, I always ended up hating Gandhi because I thought he was the root cause of most of the evils plaguing the country such as the partition, his favouring Nehru as the first Prime Minister of independent India and other factors.

However as I started to learn more and more about him, I realized even with all his flaws he still stands head and shoulders above the rest. Take his book "My experiments with Truth", he lays threadbare each and every moment of his life and his experiences ranging from childhood to even sex. How many people are comfortable speaking the truth about their personal lives? Why would a person who would have led a comfortable life as a lawyer in U.K or South Africa give it up all for a nation.

So much so that even his family has suffered. The recent movie "Gandhi, My father" takes a critical look @ Mahatma. The tag line says it all "One nation's freedom was the price of his family". Mahatma Gandhi fasted to bring an end to riots and not to divide but to unite the communities. He came across as a sincere and committed human being more than a scheming politician.

Contrast that to politicians like the Chief Minister of TamilNadu who undertakes a fast just as a camouflage for enforcing a bandh in his state.

It's not just the politicians but also people like you and me who are more enamoured of the material benefits. Sure the youth of today are more ambitious but it does come with a heavy price like declining values, arrogance, lack of discipline and impatience.

Mahatma Gandhi's writing style was so simple that even a lay person can understand it. These are some of my favourite quotes.

"An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind".

"You must be the change you want to see in the world".

I am back in Bangalore after my mini vacation in Hyderabad . It was painful leaving however I need to get back to work. I am eagerly looking forward to my next visit :)

A good sleep can do wonders to your confidence, that coupled with the day being a Friday was a big morale booster. Watching the title song of "Dil Chahta Hai" on Music television (MTV) in the morning made me nostalgic about some good old memories associated with the movie.

It was an eventful day @ work. There was a feeling of satisfaction as I learnt something new when I was writing code after a long time. In the evening we had birthday celebrations for the first time @ our new office.

After a month, I will be visiting home. My bus is scheduled for departure @ 21:40 p.m. I will be returning to Bangalore on 2nd October. Can't wait to grab some home made food :)

Looking @ the newspaper today especially Times of India one couldn't help but think there's a new wave of euphoria which has enveloped the whole country. Dhoni and his boys are being feted after winning the cup and they deserve it. It's a feel good factor we haven't seen since a long time.

I wish the feel good factor rubs on me too...:) At work today was marginally better than y'day as I assigned some small tasks to myself. I have to pack my bags because I will be leaving home tomorrow night. Hyderabad I am coming :)

So India finally managed to do it after a long time. It didn't matter if India lost coz the way they performed so far has surpassed all expectations. However a win is always welcome :)

The pace of work @ office is painfully slow. I am planning to visit home this weekend. The only thing remaining is booking my bus ticket. I have booked my return journey by air. Sometimes you aren't burdened with much work and yet @ the end of the day you're tired. You just want to go home and crash into the bed. It's a similar situation with me.

Saturday rocked literally. I am talking about the team outing I had with my colleagues. I reached Cascade resort 30 mins behind schedule. It was good fun all day long. After a long time I got to play Table Tennis and Carrom.

Close to winding up we shook our legs and hands @ the discotheque. The DJ belted out the latest chartbusters like "Hare Ram" from the unreleased film "Bul Bulaiya" and punjabi pop songs.

All in all it was a day to remember :)

"Sometimes life can be cruel" maybe this is what South African captain Graeme Smith would be thinking after their shock defeat to India and being knocked out of the Twenty/20 world cup.

I watched the match till late night.What an awesome match that was... This Indian team which is without a coach, star players and an injured Yuvraj Singh knocked out a formidable team and the hosts South Africa..:) Few people including myself would have given this Indian team an outside chance of advancing to the next round forget the semi-finals. Indians @ home and in the audience would have been thrilled to bits.

I have given up watching cricket after the match-fixing scandal and India's poor performance in the world cup. There is a moral in this story. Confidence and self belief is the key whether it's in sports/one's career or personal life.

Chakde India...:)

The downside of watching the match till late in the night was droopy eyes @ work. Thankfully it wasn't as bad as I thought and I managed to survive the day :)

Friday has come to an end. Tomorrow is our team outing @ Cascade resort which is a few metres away from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore(IIMB). We will be having an event manager who will be co-ordinating activities like team building, indoor games etc.

I am almost done with my assignment except for a minor task which needs some clarification. Overall there is a sense of accomplishment. The cold seems to be in no mood to leave me. We have a first-aid kit in our office which has prescriptions and medicine for various illnesses.

I was looking for the "sinarest" pill which I took yesterday however was surprised to find the whole tablet strip missing. I had to settle for a crocin instead. My eyes are drooping and I am waiting for the day to get over.


The big news in today's newspapers was the Sensex closing @ a record high of 16000 points and the 6 sixes which Yuvaraj slammed against England in the Twenty/Twenty tournament thus becoming the first player to score the fastest 50 in 12 balls.

It was a hectic day @ work. I am working on enhancements to an existing application. To begin with, I thought it was a daunting task however as the momentum picked up I found it a more rewarding experience.

I am expecting to finish the work atleast by tomorrow. As if the airconditioning in the office was not enough the weather outside was also quite chilly. It was like a double whammy :) At the close of the day, I was feeling a bit sick so popped a sinarest pill for cold & fever. I am feeling a bit better now and also feeling drowsy @ the same time. Need to hit the sack now :)

Monday afternoon and it's back to work. I am feeling very drowsy and just about managing not to fall asleep @ my desk.:) It was a nice trip to Mangalore I had during my last weekend. On my way back I had a problem getting a bus ticket for a Volvo to Bangalore . I ended up purchasing a ticket for Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation’s (KSRTC) “Karnataka Suvarna Sarige” which when translated to English means “Karnataka’s golden transport”. Contrary to the name it was nowhere close to what it promised except for the cheap fare.

It was a 3:2 seater, there was no place to keep my luggage and the intense humidity coupled with the fact that there was no pushback seats and the road condition on the ghat section of the road from Mangalore to Bangalore which is so bad that you might as well end up with a sore back made me change my mind @ the last minute. Thankfully I somehow managed to get a ticket for the KSRTC Volvo aptly titled “Airavat”. Airavat means the flying machine in kannada. It was around 5 a.m in the morning and as the bus was cruising along smoothly we could a hear a loud bang in the rear of the bus. After that noise there was a screeching sound whenever the bus began to pick up pace. I was praying and hoping that it was not the axle which has broken down.


After some distance the driver parked the bus @ safe corner of the road. The problem was with the inner rear tyre of the bus. It had suffered a tyre burst. The damage was immense as the tread seemed to have blown off due to the impact. The problem was solved and I ended up reaching Bangalore @ 8 a.m.

On my way back home from office yesterday things didn't seem to go well. Our office shuttle was late by 45 minutes and then we got stuck in a traffic jam. The reason was the heavy downpour which started late in the evening.

I normally reach home by 9:45 p.m but I couldn't believe it when we were still in the shuttle and the time was 12 a.m. I wished couple of guys & gals in the shuttle "Good Morning" and they sported a wry smile on their face :) It wasn't a good timing coz people had this famished looked on their face as they were literally longing to get back home and have their dinner.

Luckily for me I finish off my dinner by 8:15 p.m and that saved me the blushes. The moment I got of the shuttle and started my walk back home, there was heavy winds blowing across with such a force that I had to tightly hold on to my umbrella. My trousers were partially drenched and I started shivering.

Only after I had a warm shower, I was a bit relieved and then crashed into my bed :)

I will be going out of station this weekend to Mangalore. It's been a long time I visited the place, so it will be a welcome break for me :)

I am getting used to my new cubicle and I have begun to like the place. The only downside is that we have a transparent glass behind us and that's the place from where the people enter into the office.

The good thing is that our boss (Delivery Manager) is not sitting in the room she was supposed to be in. Her room will be located just near the entrance.

We had a conference call today and we could barely hear the caller from the other side as they were 2 simultaneous conference calls underway in the neighbouring cubicle(s). It was a bit chaotic and noisy situation...:)

The nice thing about today's call was the praise I received from my on-site manager for the good work I have been doing...:)

I couldn't help thinking about the movie I watched last weekend. The title of the movie was "Apna Asmaan". A beautiful movie which revolves around an autistic child Budhi and his parents. The struggles which the child's parents face about social stigma especially in our society where forget about people with learning disabilities even normal children are put through the grind. Budhi is good @ drawing sketches but his parents rarely encourage him. His mom who was good @ Mathematics during her academic career has big dreams to see her son doing well in the same subject. Budhi's sketches only tends to irritate her.

Parents put enormous pressure on the kids so that they can become an Engineer or Doctor and always compare them to their neighourhood kids who do well. No wonder then, when the Board exams or SSC results are out you find the children commiting suicide. Not everyone wants to become an Engineer or Doctor, they too have their dreams & aspirations. I have been through the stress and I know what the pressure is all about.

There was this incident when I was on my way home from Mumbai. One of my co-passengers asked me as to what I was doing in Mumbai and my academic background. I told him that I am a commerce graduate. The expression on his face suddenly changed to that of disdain. He proudly started speaking about his two sons. One is studying @ IIT, Mumbai and the other is preparing to leave for the U.S to pursue his Masters. This gentleman was a bit surprised as to how did I get a break in IT without an engineering degree under my belt...:)

Anyways coming back to the movie Irrfan Khan and Shobana who are good actors in their own right don't leave the audience disappointed. They portray the anguish of the parents quite well. Rajat kapoor as "Dr.Sen" also does well. The real star of the movie is the young kid .He gives a stellar performance as the autistic child who undergoes a transformation into a "Mathemagician" thanks to a novel drug "Brain Booster". Dr.Sen is right when he says "Budhi is not disabled but he's differently abled". The high point in the movie is even in the midst of gloom there are comic situations now and then which helps to break the stranglehold.

It's puzzling as to why such a movie which has even won a prize @ one of the film festivals abroad didn't get an encouraging response from the audience. The theatre was barely half full. True the movie didn't have an Shahrukh Khan or hit songs etc. to pull the audience however it had a good script and excellent performances and most important as the film critic Nikhat Kazmi has written in his film review in Times of India (TOI), it had a topical and relevant theme.

After a couple of busy days work has come back to normal levels.

Work has kept me busy today for most part of the day. We have moved to the new office premises in the same building from today. I didn't realize how time just flew for the rest of the day.

Have a lot to write however I am running out of time. Watch this space tomorrow..:)

Today before going to work, I visited the dentist to get my steel brackets taken out and the scaling done. It feels much better without the steel brackets in your mouth :)

In the office all the PC's (except mine and a couple of my colleagues) were being shifted and the draws emptied. We will be relocating to the 2nd Block / 3rd floor office and operating from the new location beginning Monday next week.

The new office premises is quite spacious and my new workstation is cool..what's not so cool is that I am seated bang opposite to our Delivery Manager's cabin. ): Work wise it was another productive day. I didn't feel that it was a Friday and now when the day has come to a close the feeling has begun to sink in :)

I need to get up early tomorrow morning to have my medical check-up done as part of the term policy cover I have taken.

You sometimes tend to get frustrated if your job is monotonous or you are not exactly loving it coz it's not doing justice to your skills. However when your options are limited atleast in the short term, the challenge then lies in making what's supposed to be a dreadful job into an exciting one.

Now that calls for sheer patience and perseverance. I realized it today when I took on a task inspite of knowing that's exactly not my kind of job. I thought to myself I don't have any tasks on hand and what's the harm in doing this job if it helps to ease the burden of someone.

It was a pleasant surprise when the client for whom I did the work was quite appreciative of what I had done so far, it brought a smile to my face. For the first time, I felt happy...:)

It feels a lot better to get back to your normal routine after 2 days of stomach upset. Every morning I watch the non-stop hits on MTV for around an hour though it runs from 7 a.m to 11 a.m. There was one song from this movie "Kalyug" titled "Jiya Dhadak".

It was a nice song beautifully picturised on the lead pair of Kunal Khemu and Smiley Suri. I loved watching this movie for it's strong script and the songs which are quite relevant to the theme.

After a lull I was busy @ work today. During my tea-break I came across an interesting article in the newspaper which mentions about the tug of war between Bajaj and TVS in the motorcycle market over the "DTS" engine. People in the industry may not like competition however it's definitely good for the end-user i.e the customer.

It was a nice weekend and here I am back to office. I wasn't feeling well today thanks to an upset stomach. Also there wasn't much on the work front as our U.S counterparts have a holiday today.

I am feeling slightly better after taking a pill for stomach ache. Can't wait to reach home and crash into the bed.

The objective is clear but there are obstacles in the way, seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Meeting challenges with ingenuity. Another day in the office for Tiger.

Accenture>>Technology.Consulting.Outsourcing...High performance delivered. This is one of my favorites ads on television as it motivates me to excel in my work and have a +ive attitude towards life.

Another cute ad is the one where in a woman is busy peeling the cover of green peas and suddenly out pops a green worm. The expression on the woman's face changes to that of horror and she shrieks. Her son comes to the table and gently places the worm in his palms. He puts it on a leaf inside a small glass jar and a flag with the name "pintoo" beside the leaf. The catchline of the ad is "Different People, Different Needs", World's local bank "HSBC". It's really a cute ad which puts out the message subtly.

Today work was hectic but I enjoyed it to the hilt. It's an amazing software that I am working on. Hats off to the developers who came up with such a gem of a software.

It's Friday and I am in a weekend mood. This time I am dead sure of watching a movie "Hey Babyy" coz I have booked my tickets in advance to avoid disappointment :)

What happens to people when they get on road. This is a question which perplexes me. The trigger came from a question asked by a RJ on Radio city today morning. There were a couple callers who were brash enough to say that they love honking, don't allow other vehicles to overtake them, like to hog the entire roadspace apart from cruising @ a dangerous speed.

The RJ was quite scathing in her analysis when she said that "If you think what you're doing is cool, I don't think so. It only shows that you have a big ego, unwilling to share etc.." I hope people take her comments seriously.

For example last Sunday when I was trying to take a turn near a junction when the green signal was on. Much to my horror the vehicles @ the opposite end of the road were breaking the red signal and that led to a traffic jam.

It was frustrating. That inevitably draws a comparison with developed countries where apart from world-class roads you have disciplined traffic. Here people lack civic sense and I guess it's too much to expect any traffic sense. What beats me is that crossing a red signal is dangerous and people are willing to risk not only their lives but also others.

At work it was a bit hectic as I am involved with a new assignment. The weather was quite cool as it rained again in the evening.

I am not sure what exactly was the reason for me feeling very drowsy @ work today. Time just flew. As usual when I was going to have my dinner, I looked @ the sky and there she was looking very beautiful silhouetted against the clouds. It's been a full moon for the past couple of days and an amazing sight to watch...:)

It was a dark weekend in the aftermath of the blasts in Hyderabad. I called up my family and friends to find out if everyone is safe. Thankfully nobody was hurt or were away from the site of the incident.

I don't get it as to what makes people take the lives of the innocent. It's sick to see the politicians, the ministers (including the Prime Minister) parroting the same old cliched lines like "PM expresses deep concern". I was in Mumbai last year and there were blasts in the local train which killed around 150 people and maimed some for life. Lots of people lost their bread winners and some their kith and kin. The irony is after the blasts, there was the usual finger pointing and sympathy for the victims. The case still remains unsolved just like the other blasts.

It was disturbing to watch on television, human flesh strewn across the auditorium, decapitated torsos and the scene was repeated @ the next site of the blast which is a very famous eatery in the heart of Hyderabad. People may hate the United States, but after 9/11 there has been no terrorist attacks in the U.S.

Sunday evening I drove all the way to Innovative Multiplex, however was disappointed on not getting a ticket for "The Transfomers".

Monday morning and back to office. Today, I didn't have much work except for the conference call in the evening.

What does it take to become a successful leader? This was the question posed to us by our new Delivery Manager. She herself gave the answer by saying that you don't become a leader just to display your power over subordinates like Hitler, but by empowering and delegating your responsibilities. I agree with her. A recent news item says that bad bosses are the number 1 reason for employees to leave and adding insult to injury they are also promoted in the organization.

All in all it was an interesting interaction with our new DM where she shared her valuable experience(s) with us. It's a good start coz how many bosses take pains to come and talk to the employees rather than sitting cozily in their cabins.

It's friday and the end of another working week. I need to get up early tomorrow and finish my household chores. Thinking of catching up on a movie :)

It was a pleasant morning that I woke upto. On my way to office, I could see a cow struggling to chew the leaves of a plant portruding through the fence of a park. It was interesting to watch how the cow was aiming it's tongue to catch hold of every single leaf..:)

One of the coolest things when you travel by a bus is that you can grab a few winks of sleep, you can't imagine doing that when you're riding a bike or driving a car.

It's been raining consistently in the evenings for the past few days. On the work front I have completed the remaining task and feel much relaxed now..:)

As I had mentioned in my prevous blog, except for 1 task, I have successfully completed all the remaining tasks. I just can't believe that I have done it:)

I got a pat on my back from my on-site project manager for the speed with which I have delivered on the job :)

It was a better day @ work today compared to yesterday. I am beginning to get into the groove. One of my colleague is also on leave and I'll be backfilling for him by taking up his work.

It's a bit challenging coz I only have a faint idea of what my colleague does. I got initiated into the training yesterday from my on-site manager and today I was successfully able to complete one of the tasks.

In the evening, I had a team meeting with my on-site counterpart. This meeting is scheduled every month where the person heading our group charts the goals and also lists out the achievements of the team members.

It's pouring outside as I prepare to wrap for the day. Time to hit the sack :)

After a week long hiatus I am back. :) I don't believe it when I was @ home with a notebook PC and a broadband connection I couldn't find time to write my blog and here I am writing it from a cybercafe after coming back from my vacation.

That symbolizes what laziness can do to someone when they are pampered royally @ home..:) I had a good time @ home feasting on home-made food. My favorites are Neer Dosa (rice pancake) and coconut chutney for breakfast apart from the lunch and dinner items. My mom has magic in her hands and she has everyone eating out of her hands..literally :)

We all watched a movie "Chakde India" @ PVR cinemas, Hyderabad Central. The movie has really come out well with Shahrukh Khan and an unknown star cast. The real hero of the movie is the script which sans any usual song-and-dance routine. It makes you laugh, cry and lets your spirits soar..:)

This weekend was unlike any other I had so far. Nope I didn't watch any movies, just went shopping for some stuff as I'll be going home on a week's vacation after a long time. I bought some eatables which are quite popular in mangalore.

I thought of driving all the way from Bangalore to Hyderabad and back but the experience last time chastened me. So in the end I will be travelling by bus which departs today @ 20.15 hrs and arrives in Hyderabad tomorrow @ 6:30 a.m.

I hope to have a good time with my family in Hyderabad :)

The past couple of days has been a bit hectic. I received lots of compliments for the e-mail sent to my office colleagues which told about my personal experience in the wildlife sanctuary of Dandeli.

Tomorrow will be the last working day for our present Delivery Manager. So I was collecting funds for the farewell lunch party and then we realized that the event won't happen as our DM wouldn't be able to make it due to other commitments.

Collecting money was the easier part, however after the cancellation, refunding the money was the most harder part as we were supposed to retain 50 bucks from the amount remitted. Finally the issue was resolved.

After a hectic weekend last week, here comes Friday again :)

I am back to Bangalore and yet to get over the pleasant memories of my stay @ Dandeli. Wow...what a rocking trip that was. On our trek, we came across the giant wood spider (poisonous). The web spun by this spider is so strong that it's said to be tougher than steel. We actually tested it by trying to tear it. :)

Other animals spotted were wild jackals, simian apes (these are similar to monkeys but have a white facial hair growing around their face). Simian apes are much sought after for their meat which is considered a delicacy.

Human's greed for meat and rampant poaching has made this an endangered animal just like the tiger and it has been accorded protection under the Wildlife Act in India . The things I missed were wild bison’s, tiger’s (we did identify a couple of pug marks of an adult tiger), elephant’s (only got to see lots of elephant dung :)). White water rafting was cancelled as trekking took most part of our time. All through the trekking we had leeches for company which was feeding voraciously on our blood. I was lucky to have been bitten only once even with open sandals whereas some of my colleagues were bitten 2-3 times in spite of wearing shoes. Most of us had salt sprinkled on our feet as that repels leeches.

Although it was raining for the 2 days we stayed there, the heavy downpour didn’t dampen our spirits and we stuck to the plan. The accomodation arrangements @ the Forest Department guest house were excellent and the home made food was awesome. We stayed in fixed tent camps, some of which had attached bathrooms.

Special thanks to Mujahid & Narayana for the logistics arrangement and taking care of every team member’s needs.

All in all it was an amazing brush with nature. We are blessed to have such wildlife and the lush green forests. One of my most memorable moments was watching the fog enveloping the hills in the dense forest. As a nature lover I hope that the people and the government take steps to protect and conserve our wildlife.

So it is essential that people respect the sanctity of the forests by not littering any plastic or other wastes, maintaining silence while trekking and not teasing the animals.

Thank god it's a Friday :) It was a hectic day with a trip to the car showroom Concorde Motors at diary circle. My car is now exactly 6 months old and it's due for its first free service.

The one dilemma on my mind was whether to claim insurance for the slight dent my car had suffered. After talking to the insurance surveyor I chose not to go in for repairs unless something serious (god forbid) damage had occured.

So we are all set for the weekend trip to Dandeli. Some of the things I am looking forward is to catch a glimpse of the wild animals like bisons, elephants and reptiles like the king cobra. Apart from that there will be some trekking, canoeing, white water rafting (it's dependent on the water level) and rapelling.

Yesterday @ work, I was going nuts trying to fix a driver problem which wasn't allowing me to connect to my backend database i.e Microsoft Access. Solution came in the form of technical help from microsoft.com when I googled the error code.

I had tried searching Google earlier as well however without much success. When I finally managed to fix the problem which had given me a headache for the past couple of days there was immense relief and joy. Joy because in the process of solving the problem I had learnt something new..:)

In the evening we had a meeting over the upcoming trip to Dandeli (I had mentioned about it in my previous blog). We discussed the items to be brought along and facilities available @ the forest reserve. There was sporadic laughter when someone cracked a joke. Let's see how things go :)

It's been raining for the past few days and the weather is quite chilly. Normally, in the evening time I only have fruit bowl for snacks however today I felt like having something hot. I went for an "Aloo Bun" and my colleagues were rubbing their eyes in disbelief coz here's a health freak who swears by his fruit bowl and what happened to him today...hehehe

The weekend was quite hectic with most of the time on saturday spent on filing the Income-Tax returns and of course meeting the guy whose car bumper got scratched in a collision with my car.

Fast forward to Monday and it was work as usual. The weather is quite chilly outside and the airconditioning inside the office only made it worse, till thankfull it was switched off. Can't wait to snuggle into my bed and have a sound sleep :)

It was an exciting day @ work today as I finished my task with lots of time to spare. Of course being Friday was like an icing on the cake :)

The one thing which has come to haunt me is the filing of the Income-Tax returns. I thought that after e-filing my job is over. It turns out that there is a final submission of the acknowledgement hard copy to be done @ the Income-Tax office. Only after getting the seal, will it be finally over..phew :)

I am looking forward to the weekend. Next weekend our office colleagues are planning for a 2 day trip to Dandeli (a reserve forest) which is 8 hours journey from Bangalore. I am excited about it and hope things work out.

It was a situation of being half-awake and half-sleep when I got up today morning. The culprit after a long time was watching T.V till late night. The effect was visible as I felt drowsy and had a nagging head-ache throughout the day.

Rupee appreciating is good news for some people and bad news for others like the software industry and exporters. The pressure is being felt not only by the big IT companies but also the medium and small companies. The latter are under more pressure. There is a talk of techies being asked to work on saturdays to get more billing rates.

Personally I think that would take the charm out of a weekend after a stressful week. I hope that things don't come to such a pass.

Imagine a situation where you lost your wallet. It contains money, your credit/debit cards, PAN card etc. You will be at a loss to figure things out when something like this hits you.

That's exactly what happened to me. I had gone to the cybercafe on Sunday afternoon and after finishing my work, I returned home and had a good nap for around 1 1/2 hours. When I was about to go out, I realized that I couldn't find my wallet. Initially I was confident that it must be lying somewhere on my bed or the closet and finally my pyjamas. To my shock, I couldn't find it anywhere.

I quickly ran towards my car and looked under the seat and there was no trace of my wallet. Again I ran towards the cybercafe looking @ the road amid a faint hope that I could somehow get it back. I asked the cybercafe owner which drew a blank. Same was the case @ the laundry.

I returned home with a heavy heart cursing myself and thinking about the consequences. It was a nightmare, I was sweating and believe me it was nerve-wracking. I was dreading the nightmare when someone would have gone shopping with my cards and the loss of important ID's.

Life without a penny in your pocket is miserable and losing your wallet makes it worse. My happiness knew no bounds when I found my wallet which was lying just @ the side of the driver's seat in my car. I somehow missed it. It thought me a very valuable lesson on how to take care of your belongings and to prepare a Plan B in case of contingency.

At work, it's been the usual routine for the past few days. Feeling more tired today and looking @ the good weather, can't wait to get home :)

Spending your weekends all by yourself just doing what you like needn't be necessarily boring. Take my case, after finishing my household chores and the laundry I just lied in bed and closed my eyes. Those few moments when I grabbed a few winks of sleep after a tiring schedule was like manna from heaven :)

Post-lunch, I went to the Forum mall, koramangala. People may hate the rain however I enjoyed driving in the rain with the car stereo playing in the background and sound of the wipers clearing the windshield for company. Traffic was in a big mess as I approached the mall.

I had no plans of catching up on a movie and I headed straight to "Landmark" the book shop located on the 4th floor. Apart from books, "Landmark" which is situated on 2 floors also stocks gift items, dvd's/mp3's/cd's etc. I grabbed a mp3 cd of "The Train" and also a nice cup featuring the cartoon character "Johnny Bravo".

When I was going to the check-out counter, I saw a pile of Harry Potter books kept on display. I couldn't resist the temptation of going through the latest and the final edition of "Harry Potter and the deathly hallows". It has been a long time since I laid my hands on a good book. J.K.Rowling the author of "Harry Potter" wrote her first book in 1997 and since then the cult around the book has only grown. Some of the adults may think what the hype is all about, however kids who are the craziest fans swear by the book.

There was a small contest, where you need to figure out the 15 words printed beside a maze of alphabets. I haven't done anything like this before so I borrowed a pen from one of the security guards, took a table and sat down to unravel the puzzle. Initially I found the task too daunting and wanted to give up however something within me insisted that I persist. The guard was looking @ me with interest and at one stage came near me and counted the number of words still left :)

For a moment I felt like a school kid solving a puzzle in his kindergarten class. In the end I won the battle :) After filling up the form, I dropped into a bowl. I hope I get lucky :)

It's nice to know that in this age where people's reading habits are on the wane due to television, internet, gaming etc, books like these may arrest the slide atleast to a certain extent.

I had a nice thai dinner which had rice topped with mushroom and tofu plus some finger food. The desert was my favorite gelato ice-cream in "Dolce Latte" flavour.

Driving home was still the same as it continued to pour well into the night. Sunday i.e today was pretty much routine starting with my breakfast in the morning and spent some time watching television.

The one thing new I did today was to tidy up my kitchen shelves. I had planned to do it since a long time so I shed aside my inertia and neatly placed the stuff back on the shelves.

BTW I had mentioned earlier about my friend Agni who is now in Hyderabad. He has also joined the bandwagon of bloggers :) I read his first blog @ http://theczar-thestoryofmylife.blogspot.com/. It was pretty much about his thoughts, views, ambitions and the like. It was cool stuff and I enjoyed reading it :)

Yipee...it's Friday again. Today, on my way to work, I did my grocery shopping @ Big Bazaar. I am a bit relieved as I needn't worry about my breakfast & lunch for the weekend :)

The Income-Tax department has made it easier by allowing individuals to e-file their returns on the net. So I just downloaded the appropriate form, generated an XML file and then uploaded it again on the website which then gave me an acknowledgement form with the e-filing number. Isn't it pretty cool, saving the hassle of going to the Income-Tax office. I must say things are definitely going to get better in the future.

As for the weekend plans, it's going to be the household work again and then if I am lucky, I intend to watch a movie. "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix" seems to be the flavour of the month however it seems pretty tough to grab a ticket for the weekend..:)

Wednesday morning and it was time to savor my cup of Bournavita with brown bread. It was yummy and is really filling :) Brown bread has become one of my favorite food for breakfast as it's healthy and tasty.

At work, I was involved with my learning sessions and ended the day with a telecon with my onsite team.

Last weekend I had forgotten to mention that I had watched a movie "Die Hard 4.0". It was a treat for those who are hard-core action buffs or Die-hard series fans, the movie doesn't disappoint in comparison to the previous tepid sequels.

Sunday, I met one of my friends Anil, his wife and their two cute kids after a gap of nearly 5 months @ their new place. In the evening I had a sumptuous dinner with one of my friends @ Woody's on commerical street. It was truly a lip smacking experience :)

Monday it was back to work. I signed up for investing in Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund - Prima option from today through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP). In the morning, as a financial planner suggested to the radio host on 91.1 FM that "savings should be your first expenditure". How true can that be :) Rest of the day, the time just flew by till it was time to wrap up after the conference call.

Saturday being the day when my household chores take precedence over everything else. I thought of finishing of everything by getting up early in the morning, however except for my breakfast which I had on time (you guessed it, it was my favorute scrambled eggs with brown bread :)) and car cleaning I couldn't clean my house.

I had to rush to attend an interview. I have a 50-50 chance as far as the interview results are concerned. The day ended on a bad note as my car was involved in a minor accident with a brand new Honda Accord. I scraped past the car bumper when I was trying to take a right turn. The car owner was livid @ me, I could understand his anger as he had taken delivery of the car just yesterday. I had to shell out INR 5000 bucks for the damage caused. It also ruined what was a fine day for me. So sad that it had to end this way and I only have myself to blame. I feel like crying, as it was my hard earned money.

It was a bit tense atmosphere in the office today in sharp contrast to the pleasant atmosphere outside :) Well, the reason...we were having a security audit and everyone (especially the top officials) in the company were on their toes.

The office cubicles which normally had a festive like atmosphere with laughter and music suddenly sported pin-drop silence. In the end, everything went on smoothly. Only when the audit officers left everyone could heave a sigh of relief :)

It was a bad day for me as my head struck the ceiling. There is a staircase above the staircase which I was climbing and the ceiling is so low that someone who is quite tall can end up banging their head. That's exactly what happened with me. The impact was such that my upper and lower jaws gnashed against each other. I am still feeling dizzy..it's like the Tom & Jerry cartoon with birds flying over your head :) I only hope, it isn't serious. Can't wait to crash into the bed as I am having a severe headache.

I began my day @ work with a lunch party thrown by colleagues who had their birthday's in the previous month. The place was "3 Quarters", a chinese restaurant located on church street near M.G.Road.

We had arranged for our office shuttle and the rest came by their 2 wheeler(s). The food and the ambience was great. It was a buffet and the price per plate was INR 175 (incl. taxes), not bad considering that the food was quite decent. I especially enjoyed the desert topped with a sweet-meat titled "Malpuha" dipped in sugar syrup. It was sheer delight :)

I felt as if time just flew and it's time to wrap up for the day :)

The weekend just passed by. I wasn't able to catch up on a movie as planned. Saturday, my washing machine developed a glitch when it was not draining out water after the rinsing cycle. That led to a bit of panic attack for me as my clothes were just in between the washing cycle. Calling up the service centre didn't help as they were just closing for the day and will get in touch only on Monday.

After some hiccups, the washing machine managed to get the clothes washed but the water didn't drain out completely. I am just hoping and praying that I don't face a nightmare on the coming weekend.

Work kept me busy most of the day which is good as it's been quite a while since I had my hands full. The newspapers have been full of articles about the terror suspects from India. What has shocked me and many is that those involved were in highly respected professions like medicine and engineering. Of course as the dictum goes you can't label someone as guilty unless proven.

The downside is that many Indians including students and other professionals like techies, doctors etc will find the going tough due to the act of a few people. As it is, in the western society however good the Indians or non-whites are, you're still a brown skinned person.

It was a hectic day @ work today and can't wait to get back home and crash into my bed :) The good thing is that..you guessed it, the weekend is here :)

No one forgets their first job, no matter what the salary was. It might have been peanuts or sometimes nothing at all. It also would have been a good or bad experience. When I saw the program "On the Job" on MTV it reminded me of my very first job.

I worked without pay for 3 months and my joy knew no bounds when I received my first pay although that was a very modest amount by today's standards :) In the show "On the Job" the participants are put through a grind and only the lucky one gets a job offer, be it from a animation or an airline company based on their skillset. It's a nice show worth watching b'coz of the first hand exposure it gives to people fresh from college and willing to slug it out.

At my work, I had a nice interactive session with my new on-site manager. There was serious work issues discussed which was punctuated now and then with rib-tickling jokes :)

It was a bit of relief for me when I got hold of my Form 16 yesterday. I was waiting eagerly for it so that I can file my Income-Tax returns for the Assessment Year 2007-08.

I just didn't feel like going to work today, you can blame the lovely weather for it :) Whenever I have snacks in the evening with my colleagues we end up discussing health topics and this irritates a couple of my colleagues. I savour my fruit bowl while this colleague of mine indulges in hot puri's and mashed potatoes. My health talk seems to have some impact with people slowly converting their oily foods into something more healthy and nutritious like the fruit bowl :) It's the last part which is worrying my colleague as he feels that he will end up in a minority. To each their own :)

It's 4th July (American Independence day) which is a public holiday for our U.S counterparts and unfortunately we are working :)

Most people start businesses from the scratch and then build it into a huge empire. When the time comes to leave, they pass on the reins to their son(s) or daughter(s). But, how many of them pass on the baton to professionals and that too in an Indian company?

The best example is of IT behemoth Infosys where Nandan Nilekani resigned as the CEO and was succeeded by Kris Gopalakrishnan. It was truly a shining example of a company which has set new benchmarks. Another example was in politics when Tony Blair stepped aside as Prime Minister to make way for his deputy Gordon Brown. That was true democracy in practice. Having enjoyed power for 10 years, which politician would want to relinquish their post voluntarily? Imagine that happening in India :)

It's Tuesday and the weather continues to stay pleasant with overcast skies and no traces of rain. On the work front things were as usual except that I am not having a conference call with my on-site team today.

I spent Saturday's as usual doing my household chores and on Sunday, I watched the movie "Fantastic Four - Rise of the silver surfer". As it happens with such movies which are based on the similar series by Marvel comics, it's the victory of good over evil and here viewers are taken for a surprise when the person who is assumed to be evil reveals that beneath his hard exterior there's a noble soul within.

When I followed the news over the weekend of how Mumbai went under due to the deluge it reminded me of the not-so-good memories about my stay in Mumbai 2 years back on 26th July 2005. I was caught in the floods and what a nightmare it was. The only positive thing about the whole experience was it tested my patience to the limits against heavy odds. The sad part is it's become more of an annual ritual and I am not sure how long Mumbaikar's are going to suffer like this.

As a financial capital Mumbai gives you the impression of work-in-progress which never ceases to end. The dug up roads, garbage piled up, construction or proposed construction of flyovers, asia's largest slum, bad state of drainage system, lack of civic sense, an airport which has the distinction of being surrounded by slums, these are things which never change irrespective of which party rules the state or which organization control's the city's muncipality. What is amazing is that the city still survives.

Monday, as usual it's back to work. Somehow the day has been uninspiring so far.